Former Gossip Girl star Blake Lively recently announced that she will be launching her own lifestyle website. “The main element of it is that it’s about storytelling and it’s about living a very one-of-a-kind, curated life, and how to achieve that,” explained Lively. “I have so many passions outside of acting and things that I grew up being good at that I don’t utilize when acting.” Makes sense.

The chicest bag this season? It’s not a ladylike quilted chain-strap, oversized clutch, or top-handle satchel. It’s actually the trusty old backpack.

Okay, so, it’s not any old backpack. The chic leather one we’re seeing on celebrities, our favorite street-style stars, and the runways is a cool, nonchalant, off-duty version. Mary-Kate and Ashley’s label, The Row, has come out with a $55,000 crocodile model and (by comparison, a relative steal) a $17,000 patchwork fur one. Style icon Kate Bosworth is sporting 3.1 Phillip Lim’s white version in the November issue of Lucky magazine and designer Junya Watanabe‘s entire men’s 2014 spring collection was inspired by the humble backpack.

First we had Michelle Obama, who put homegrown designers like Jason Wu and Thakoon on the map. Then we had Kate Middleton, who created international pandemonium when everything she wore – from her royal blue Issa engagement dress to her polka dot Topshop maternity dress – sold out in seconds. She even made the seemingly impossible happen: nude panty-hose sales, once a granny staple, rose 500% after she and sister Pippa dared to cover their bare legs. This fashion revolution was instantly known as “The Kate Effect.”

Now we have a new fashionista to follow – and she isn’t a princess or First Lady. She’s Olivia Pope, a political “fixer” on the hit ABC show Scandal.

The big Spring 2014 runways shows (New York, London, Paris, and Milan) are officially over. Now, after sitting through dozens of shows and poring over hundreds of images, I’ve rounded up the top five trends you should expect to see in the new year.

Ice skating in Bryant Park. Shopping (so much shopping). Cronuts™. The fact that you can literally stay up all night. There is something for everyone in the city of all cities – New York.

So starting today through October 31, 2013, we’re giving you the chance to win a luxe weekend there for you and a friend, on us.

All you have to do is sign up for the sweepstakes to gain your first entry, then share with your friends to score additional entries. It’s that simple. The more entries we get, the more prizes are unlocked, all leading up to this crazy-luxurious grand prize:

Three days, two nights in a luxury hotel for two, December 6 – 8, 2013

Mark your calendar – everyone’s favorite fashionista, Sarah Jessica Parker, is (finally) launching her own shoe line, aptly called SJP. “I really wanted to bring back the single sole,” explains Parker. The actress, who is collaborating with Manolo Blahnik’s CEO on the collection, says she wanted to create and offer “colors, regardless of the trends, to women in beautiful shapes, and at affordable prices.”